Belhaven 'Trips Week' 2025

Belhaven’s ‘Trips Week’ continues to be a highlight of the Belhaven calendar. The experience of being away from home with your friends and having a great time learning is one that we all try to replicate throughout our lives and I am very grateful to the amazing staff for making these trips possible – there is a lot to organise and consider!

We are delighted to have heard so many positive reviews from the children and the staff, and you can view our Trips Week galleries and read some of the children’s reflections on their travels below:

Form 1: Trip To Belfast

A review by one of the Form 1 tourists:

'We started our journey on the ferry, which set the tone for the amazing week ahead. The thrill of the water park was a highlight, where we enjoyed splashing around and having fun. Visiting the Titanic Museum was both educational and fascinating. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was the Troubles tour around Belfast – it was a fantastic experience and gave us a huge insight into the city’s past. We also had a blast at Portrush where we faced the freezing Irish Sea (not as cold as Scotland’s ‘Baltic’ North Sea!) but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the beach! The rollercoaster brought us some adrenaline-pumping excitement on THE BEAST! And just before the trip came to a close, we even had the chance to drive Land Rovers blindfolded which was hilarious. It was great to see my friends having a fantastic time but also our teachers who got stuck in and brought loads of enthusiasm. As we came back, I don’t think I have slept more. And I am grateful for the experience'.

Hector J

Form 2: Trip to Whithaugh Park, Foxlake and Bisley

Form 3: Trip to Loch Insh

Form 4:Trip to York

A diary by 3 of our Form 5 tourists:

Monday 16th June 2025

'Today was an exciting day! The first day of the Form 4 trip. Our class eagerly stepped onto the bus and drove to Berwick to catch the train to York. After an hour, we arrived in Berwick and hopped on the train. After 2 hours, we got to sunny York and we got stuck into our first activity which involved exploring the Railway Museum. We also got to see the Mallard which is a type of train. After the museum we walked to our hotel which was called Safestay and took the opportunity to gobble up our sandwiches. Next, we strolled to Barley Hall, where we learnt about the people who lived there and their servants. After that, we wandered to the Jorvik Viking Centre and were introduced to the biggest fossilised poo! We also jumped on a fun ride that informed us about life in Viking times. After that, we walked through the Shambles which is a famous road and we learnt that if your house was more slanted you paid less tax. We were treated to fish and chips for dinner and later that evening, we walked to Clifford’s Tower for a ghost walk. Mark, our tour guide, told us lots of spooky ghost stories. After the tour, we stumbled back to the Safestay feeling very tired and all looking forward to our beds. It had been a long but exciting day and we couldn’t wait for tomorrow'.

By Jonah Chung

Tuesday 17th June

This morning, we got up super early and dressed quickly to have time to chat and play games before breakfast. ‘Knock,’ ‘knock,’ came the noise at the door. It was Mrs Townshend calling us for breakfast. We ate breakfast quickly then set off to catch the bus for the sightseeing tour. We hopped on and ran up to the top floor to get a good seat. The bus started to move and we drove through the Wip Ma Wop Ma gate (the shortest street with the longest name). We then explored York Minster which was next to one of the ugliest houses in the world! We climbed up the steps to the top and there were 275 steps in total! After the long climb, we then strolled to the Chocolate Story and learnt about the history of chocolate. Before lunch, we had a chance to explore the sweet shop to buy sweets for our film in the evening. Soon, it was time for lunch so we sat in the park and munched on our scrummy sandwiches. Next, it was time for York Dungeon and you guessed it… it was super scary! After the shock of the dungeons we were all a bit shaky as we walked to DIG. When we got there, we were taken into a long hall that was filled with glass cabinets stuffed with artefacts. First, we had to guess which skulls belonged to which animals. After that, we were taken into a room filled with sand pits and we dug for lots of different artefacts. Later that afternoon, we had one more thing to do which was climb Clifford Tower! We walked to the tower and climbed the many steps to look down onto the whole city. It was amazing! Afterwards, we walked to the pub where we had supper. It was getting late so we headed back to our hotel to watch a movie while we tucked into our sweets. Another successful day complete in York!

By Flora Gladstone

Wednesday 18th June

Today was sadly our last day in York. We woke up late and gobbled up our final breakfast of pastries and cereal as quickly as we could. Feeling rather dusty, we quickly headed off to complete our walk of the York walls. It passed very quickly because of Mr Curry's rather extreme walking ability! After that, we set off towards the brilliant Army Museum, where we took part in a number of interesting activities such as solving morse code and exploring some amazing weapons. We even got a quick chance to visit the gift shop. Later that morning, we explored the Castle Museum and we learnt about what it was like for people in the 2nd World War. We also explored the weapons and took a final opportunity for a run around in the huge playground. Unfortunately, we only had a couple minutes in the gift shop! Just before it was time to go, we ate our last trip sandwich and crisps in the park and then hopped on the train back to Dunbar. What a trip! Although we were all exhausted, we all agreed it was the best school trip we’ve been on yet.

By Noah Backhouse